WRFD
TYLER BATHALON
I always wanted to serve the community. I grew up in the house that’s
directly behind the fire station, and I always see the guys go out for
calls, and I hear the trucks and everything when I was little. It was just
something I was always interested in, you know, kind of that cliché
that little kids always want to be firemen, and it was really true for
me. Probably the first fire that I was on, real fire, did a lot of property
damage. It was in Clarendon. It was the middle of the morning. The
family lost their house. It was really heart-wrenching to have to go
through their stuff, trying to find pieces of their life, to try to put it back
together. It was so disappointing to them that they’d lost everything.
RH: What would you say to somebody who wants to become a
firefighter?
TB: I would say if it’s your desire, then go for it and definitely do it. It’s
something I would never give up, something I’m very glad I did. I went
to college to be a fireman. I have an associate’s degree in applied sciences
in fire science. I would really encourage anybody who has a desire to be
a fireman to go there first and do it.
SCOTT FITZGERALD
I moved in to West Rutland in 1999 and just wanted to give back to my
community. To me, to be able to go out and give back to my community in a
time of need is important. I’ve been doing it for 17, almost 18 years, it’ll be
18 years in spring, and, hopefully, I’ve got another 5-6 years left in me. I’m
not quite as quick as I used to be, but I do what I can do.
RH: Tell me about a fire or a rescue that left an impression on you.
SF: Probably the mill fire that we had here in town. That was probably the
biggest fire West Rutland’s ever seen. We were probably two or three days
overall on that fire. I stood at the truck pumping water for about 14 hours
straight, and my brain was fried. I don’t think I was ever that tired in my life.
But it was very rewarding at the end. Nobody got hurt, and we were able to
save some of the property and serve the community. You need dedication.
You have to have heart. You have to be able to look through a lot of bad
situations and just continue your job. It’s very rewarding.
6 • RUTLAND HERALD HOMETOWN HEROES OCTOBER 2018